It has long been desired to create a broad range of variants, offering unique benefits, from a single base detergent composition. By adding specific benefit agents to such a base, one could simply and cost-effectively provide compositions that are tailored to a specific group of users. However, a big challenge is to find structurants to thicken such compositions which are compatible with a broad range of potential detergent ingredients.
External structurants for providing rheological benefits to fluid detergent compositions are known. Examples of desired benefits of such structurants include particle suspension, shear thinning properties, a thick appearance on the shelf, as well as stabilization of other materials which are desired to be incorporated within the composition. Known external structurants include those derived from castor oil, fatty acids, fatty esters, or fatty soap water-insoluble waxes. However, their applicability for detergent applications is limited due to degradation by conventional detergent ingredients such as enzymes, including protease and lipase (lipase hydrolyses ester bonds present in castor oil derivatives), which are desirable for improved low temperature cleaning. This class of structurants is also incompatible with low pH and peroxide bleaches. Such external structurants make the detergent compositions less aesthetically pleasing since they impart additional cloudiness and hence reduce the clarity of the composition. For these reasons, formulators have often resorted to polymeric structurants. However, they can result in a stringy pour profile that is undesirable to the consumer, particularly when “gel-like” viscosities are desired.
As such, a need remains for a structurant that is compatible with a broad range of detergent compositions, that does not affect product clarity, while still providing good structuring of the detergent ingredients and being easy to pour.